Marijuana during pregnancy could damage baby's brain

Researchers studied marijuana's effects on mice and brain tissue from human fetuses, and found that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), interferes with the formation of connections between nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher thinking skills and forming memories, Fox News reports.

"Our advice is that pregnant mothers should avoid marijuana," said neuroscientist Tibor Harkany of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and the Medical University of Vienna, in Austria, who led a study detailed Jan. 27 in the EMBO Journal.

Harkany added that the effects of prenatal marijuana exposure could even last into adulthood. 

Previous studies have found that exposure to marijuana during pregnancy can increase a child's risk of having cognitive deficits or psychiatric disorders.

An increasing number of women of childbearing age are using marijuana, and this group should be made aware of the potential impact on the brain development of their children, said study researcher Yasmin Hurd, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Harkany and his colleagues didn't study the effects of marijuana use prior to pregnancy, but he said the drug is cleared from the body in a period days, not months, and using it prior to conception is more likely to affect the likelihood of becoming pregnant than the fetus itself.

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